This invention is directed to a thermal interconnection and particularly a structure by which heat can be removed from a thermally conductive layer of a printed circuit board. The thermal interconnection includes a cooled mass against which the thermally conductive layer of the printed circuit board is spring urged.
Printed circuit boards or cards are commonly used in modern electronics systems for the provision of conductors and for the mounting of circuit elements. These circuit boards often have printed circuitry on one side thereof and have the circuit components mounted on the other side thereof with terminal wires extending through the board so that soldering of all the components to the circuitry can be accomplished in one pass. On the other hand, some of the boards have multiple layers of printed circuitry to enable crossover. There are many varieties of such boards, for various different types of uses.
The life of most electronic components is a function of operating temperature. The operating temperature is a function of the power loss therein, the ambient temperature around the circuitry and the capability of conducting heat away from the electronic components. In order to maximize the life of electronics, various types of cooling thereof have been employed. The simplest is the circulation of cool gas, usually air, past the printed circuit boards and the electronics thereon. However, in order to operate the electronics at a higher electronic capacity, and still maintain a reasonable life, forced cooling is necessary. Previously, a cooled mass has been provided and each circuit board has been resiliently urged against a portion of the mass, each by an individual spring. This provided cooling for each circuit board so that a plurality of such circuit boards could be positioned closely adjacent each other and could each be positively cooled. However, there is need for a more economically producible and easily usable structure.